Essendon coach news: Bombers star pours cold water on James Hird’s potential return

Essendon superstar Zach Merrett, considered the top candidate to be the club’s next captain, has texted James Hird after his stunning assessment of the legend’s possible return as coach.

James Hird is interested in returning as Essendon coach.

Essendon star Zach Merrett told a crowd of more than 600 at a finals luncheon that James Hird would not be the right person for the vacant Bombers coaching job.

A guest at the Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Victoria Footy Finals Luncheon at Crown Palladium last Friday confirmed the Essendon vice-captain said he couldn’t see Hird coaching the club again.

“Zach gave the very clear impression he didn’t think James Hird was the right man for the job,” the guest said.

“He said the players would make it work and get on board with it if it did happen.”

The Merrett comments were also confirmed by others attending the event.

After the story broke on Friday morning, Merrett sent Hird a text message backtracking on his remarks.

It’s understood Merrett told Hird he and his teammates would be rapt if he came back to the club and claimed he was taken out of context.

Merrett made the original comments sitting next to sports broadcaster Neroli Meadows, Richmond AFLW player Sarah Hosking and Carlton great Anthony Koutoufides, who were also guest speakers at the event.

Zach Merrett speaking at the function last Friday alongside Neroli Meadows, Sarah Hosking and Anthony Koutoufides. (Picture: supplied)

It comes as Essendon confirmed it had interviewed Hird on Wednesday along with other candidates for the coaching job.

Merrett was drafted to Essendon at pick 26 in 2013 and was coached by Mark Thompson in his first season.

Hird coached Merrett in 2015 when the Essendon great returned from a 12-month AFL suspension after the Bombers supplements scandal.

He resigned later that season and had mental health struggles after the scandal.

Hird joined former Essendon teammate Mark McVeigh at GWS this season as a part-time leadership consultant.

He had a focus on the leadership group and emerging leaders of the club where he shared his own experiences to support their journeys.

Hird's coaching claims receive huge endorsement

-Lauren Wood

A prominent Essendon coterie member has backed James Hird returning to the club — if he is determined to be the right man for the job.

Hird, who stepped down as Bombers coach in 2015 after a turbulent period for the club that included the supplements saga, was interviewed on Wednesday by the club’s coaching subcommittee in relation to the vacant senior coaching role.

As club great Tim Watson said he had reservations about a Hird return to the club, former president of the club’s influential coterie group Mark Casey said he would “absolutely” be happy to see Hird back.

“The footy club has a board and they’ve got a process they need to go through. And they will pick the best candidate,” the property tycoon told the Herald Sun on Thursday.

“But, in saying that, James Hird’s probably one of the smartest footballers and intelligent guys that I’ve ever met — even from a business point of view … his determination and the way he played the game (saw him) be one of the greatest players.

“Would I be happy to see James Hird back at the football club? Absolutely.

“But it’s up to the board and their process to be done diligently, and I want the best candidate in that job.

“If that happens to be James Hird, then nothing would make me happier. But if there’s someone better, then we should go after that person.”

James Hird is interested in a return as Essendon coach.

The coaching committee includes club football boss Josh Mahoney, four-time premiership player and former Hawk and Demon Jordan Lewis, ex-Carlton senior coach Robert Walls, Melbourne Vixens coach Simone McKinnis, ex-NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn and board member Dorothy Hisgrove.

It is understood that Melbourne assistant coach Adem Yze, St Kilda assistant Brendon Lade and Essendon premiership player turned coach Dean Solomon were also interviewed.

Casey, who remains a member of the Essendonians — the AFL and Essendon’s oldest coterie group — stressed that he did not speak on behalf of the group but that he had garnered a similar sense from other members in relation to a potential return for Hird and that there would be no residual scars if he was appointed.

James Hird chats to former Bomber Brendon Goddard during a match.

James Hird chats to Dyson Heppell.

“He bleeds red and black, and I think that he would entice other Essendon people to the club, potentially, and create a team around him that may bring us back to the success of the 2000 era,” Casey said.

“I know one thing about James — he always has a plan. At the end of the day, he’s got the footy brain and the business brain to be able to combine the two to make it a success.

“We’ve got to let the club go through due process and let the club find the best candidate, but I would definitely support James.”

Watson, a former club captain and father of fellow ex-skipper Jobe Watson who served under Hird and was one of the players banned from playing amid the supplements drama said he believed “for a lot of people if would drag back all those things that happened … during that period of time that he was there as a coach”.

James Hird and Jobe Watson.

“I have to say that I’d be more than surprised if he ended up being the coach of the Essendon Football Club,” Watson said on SEN.

“Let’s say Essendon is broken, I think what would unite a club will be success. It doesn’t have to come from James Hird being the coach to unite Essendon.

“The club would have been united under Ben Rutten or John Worsfold had they been more successful.

“We don’t need a saviour to come back and unite the Essendon Football Club. We need somebody who is able to put a plan of action in place that is able to deliver success and to start to build a successful team again, that’s what we need.”

Watson said he was “happy for (Hird) to be part of the process and for him to have the courage to put his hand up and even go through because he would have known what this would attract once it became public knowledge”.

“He would have known that it puts him right out there in the middle of the conversation again which he has wanted to shy away from and avoid for a long time,” he said.

“My thought on all this is you go through a process and if it’s set up correctly and ask the right questions, then you end up with the best candidate.

“Out of all this, it may end up being James Hird, who knows?.”